Jared Banks plays a major role in determining what music his audience at KUUD gets to hear and that’s a good thing. Driven by passion that is equitably distributed between his love of radio and his affection for music, Banks is determined not to sell his audience, or his station short. Along with PD Matt Johnson, the programming team at KUDD is a credible force that insures consummate entertainment for its listeners in a very crowded SLC radio lane. – See more at: http://www.fmqb.com/Article.asp?id=2880545#sthash.HJYfTwoE.dpuf

Jared Banks

Jared Banks

By Fred Deane

Jared Banks is working on crafting a career targeted for perfection both as a morning host and an evaluator of music. Salt Lake City is not without its challenges though, given its conservative nature and the quantity of competition in just about all of the contemporary music formats. Banks’ goal is to be judicious but not ultra-conservative when approaching new music for the market and it leads to him doing a lot of homework and due diligence regarding the titles that come up for discussion.
Ironically enough, Banks has come full circle with respect to his career. Starting in 2001 at (current sister station) KUUU in SLC as a part-timer, he traversed the country a little bit only to find himself back in the same market and same cluster of stations he started in thirteen years later. On-air positions at WBVD/Melbourne, FL, WFLZ/Tampa and then (cross-town rival) KZHT/SLC filled the void between stints at the current cluster he works in. In September of 2011, Banks returned to the family of stations that jump-started his career, this time with KUUU’s sister station KUDD, where he continues to help the station play a competitive role in a market that presents a series of challenges.

How unique of a market is Salt Lake City given its cultural nuances and how do these traits affect what you can play on the air?
It’s definitely a more conservative market, but it’s really coming into its own. The Olympics in 2002 really opened up SLC to the world and it’s grown up a lot since then culturally. Any time you have one dominant demographic it will influence your airplay to an extent, but a hit is a hit and for the most part, it’s a wide open playlist. When I came here from Florida as a night jock I was easily the most colorful jock in town and I was toning it down. Now being on as the Morning Show host I can just be honest with the audience and they react really well.

Can you paint a picture of the core KUDD listener and what separates that listener from other audience segments in the market?
Our listener is very similar to the CHR audience in any other market: a young active female who may or may not be married. The overall audience here is a little younger than the rest of the country. We have the youngest average age of any state in the country. A woman in her early 20’s here is more likely to be married with kids than elsewhere, but not much really that different than any other market I’ve been in.

How involved does the station get in community affairs and can you weigh the importance of that involvement in the overall branding process of KUDD?
As a cluster we get very involved in the community. As a station we are involved with The Road Home which is a local homeless outreach. We do a two day broadcast around Christmas every year and we help raise over $2 million for The Road Home. It’s an incredible cause that makes a real impact with local families in fighting habitual homelessness. The success rate for keeping people in permanent housing is over 80% with the program and it’s a great feeling to be a part of that.
        We are also the media partner for the Utah Pride Festival. It’s a great chance to get out and show what amazing diversity exists in Utah. I have been involved for three years now and it gets bigger and more fun every year!

What is the key to sustaining a strong brand in your market?
I think the key to a sustainable brand in any market is being totally honest and true to your listener. Music and tastes will change. But if you live an honest lifestyle that is consistent with your audience you will naturally create a brand that connects emotionally. When you make the connection one on one with the listener, on their terms, on issues and topics that are relevant you will create a lasting brand. You can’t fake a good brand. There are several strong brands in the market that have created longevity and now reap the benefits of cultural listening. Meaning that people listen to them across generations, parents listened and now kids listen with them because they have evolved to stay current but are true to the lifestyle of the brand. It’s a simple concept but it’s not an easy one to get right. Few accomplish it. I hope we can at Mix 107.9.

Your cluster includes a Rhythmic and an Alternative station. What is the synergy among the stations and do you allow exclusivity of some songs in these respective areas before KUDD would get involved?
With CHR all we really have are the hits from other formats. Sure there are several artists that are essentially Pop, but even HAC stations will share most of those. With the Rhythm and Alt stations in the building it gives us a great insight as to what may crossover earlier than most. It’s really a great asset to have because both stations are programmed really well.

Is it more relevant that a song gets very hot and active nationally or at each respective station (internally) before you consider putting it on the air?
I think there has to be a balance. If we only hung our hat on one or the other we would miss a lot of songs. We play a lot of records because they are Top 10 and aren’t necessarily performing well. Imagine Dragons “On Top Of The World” is a record that’s a great example of a song doing well locally that really didn’t take off with a national story, yet we’ve had good success with it. Internally it’s easier to gauge when to hop on a record.
        If a sister station has a record in power that is selling, showing up on Shazam and has great M Scores we should take a look. That’s one of the perks of being in a cluster with other formats that are successful on their own. You can never have too much information about a record.

What factors are most significant when assessing new music for the station?
There really is no hard fast rule. As the music changes so do the factors. I think “guitar music that women can dance to” is a good place to start with CHR right now. Pop music really lends itself to blending so many different flavors and genres. So really learning to have an “ear” for what has worked well in SLC in the past and hearing “it” in the new records coming out is where we start. Some songs are a hit on the first listen to a lot of people. I’m not one of those people. I have to hear a song several times before I’ll make a decision on how I think it will perform.
There is no such thing as too much information. If a record has a great story nationally then it will be fuel for the fire to step out locally. Locally a record might show up in sales or Shazam that really makes you take notice. I can’t put a value on what’s more important, national and local stories are both relevant and overlooking one or the other could be crippling.

What tools mean the most to you when it comes to evaluating music that’s rotating on the air already?
Everything including local sales, M Scores, Shazam, chart position, iTunes sales and more. Really all the typical factors that go into making a music decision come into play. We don’t have a list of rules that we plug records in to. Each record has factors that carry weight over others for many different reasons. Really being able to digest the data as a whole and apply it to each situation in our music meetings is what we try and accomplish. Sometimes we get it right but it’s not a perfect process. There are times when a record is killing it with the local sales, so you know it’s in demand, but the M Scores look terrible. On the flip side, a Top 10 record that is the third or fourth song on a record might not have the sales numbers, but the meters tell us it’s a performer. We have to be fluid and look at every unique opportunity to play the best product and let them grow organically.

The market is stacked with Pop and HAC signals. How do you differentiate KUDD from the competition?
Musically there are so many different avenues where our product is delivered that it comes down to personality. With digital delivery being so prevalent we have to create a life that listeners want to be a part of. More than the music anymore it’s the personalities that set you apart from the competition. That’s where we have been able to see a lot of growth with KUDD. All of our personalities really own who they are on the air. From Lexi and I in the morning talking very personally about our lives, to our night guy Dylanbeing out in front of people and being hyper local. 95% of our competitors are voice tracked or syndicated, but having a live body in every day-part is really what makes us different.

How much sharing of music goes on in the market and does this lead to early burn on a record at times?
A lot of sharing occurs on just about every record we play. I think we have yet to be on a single record where we owned it. I don’t know that the burn is any higher than normal. Every format it seems has two or three options in town. So there are more places for people to be exposed to these songs. But those records grow out of those smaller audiences to CHR and then it’s off to the races like anywhere else.

Do you ever feel a need to get on a song/artist early and beat the competitor to the punch, or do you choose a more deliberate approach?
We are pretty conservative with what we play as a general rule. There are always songs that just make sense for us. Imagine Dragons and Neon Trees both have strong roots/ties to the market, so records by both those bands do really well. It’s incredible to have an artist like Neon Trees finish a record and drive it up to us to hear. They listen to us as a station just as much as we listen to them as an artist and it’s really fun. I think when you have artists who strike at your core you can step out early too. But that’s a little obvious.

How active is the station regarding artist initiatives in the market and which types connect the best with your audience?
Radio is obviously not a visual format. But in the chances we have to get face to face with listeners and artists together we really can make something special happen. If it’s a station visit with a few listeners, a performance/lounge or a radio exclusive concert, the contact with the audience and an artist (especially in situations that money can’t buy) is where I think radio really shines. It goes beyond YouTube or TV. It’s a chance to be totally real and intimate with the music and the people it connects with. We try to be as active as possible here. In our new studios (that are currently under construction) we have a fantastic performance space being built that will allow us to showcase new artists as well as established acts in a flexible and unique space.

How would describe the optimal radio/label relationship, and when does it work best?
It works best when there is no BS! If we can be totally honest with each other, then we are going to be successful and expose a lot of great product. I understand that labels are under a lot of pressure to get adds and break artists. But working me on six records at once and telling me they are all going to be hits is a bit of a laugh. Tell me honestly what’s going to work. What is going to need help? What do you like personally? What has a great story digitally or nationally? I’m always going to give you a straight answer on any record that’s in front of me for airplay consideration. You will always know where you stand and so will I. I really feel it’s easier to work that way. We don’t have to sell records like they are used cars.

How does radio insure itself that it remains vital versus the several multi-media players that present music choice and entertainment options to your listeners?
It’s about content and delivery. We need to be better about getting the best available content to the audience in a variety of ways. Social media has been a great tool but we need to create more! Radio has been great at being opportunistic with outside content. But what will keep us alive is content that is unique to radio and our personalities. Can we find emotional content that the audience will invest in? We need to better identify what’s relevant to our consumers and create content that addresses that. Then we need to give it to them on whatever platforms are available. Digital delivery is constantly changing and we need to evolve with it.

As the morning host how does being on the air influence your opinions on the music you play?
On breaking new music I think the impact is really minimal. When I sit down to schedule quarter hours it makes a huge difference because in my mind I know how I’m going to execute that quarter hour on the air. I can hear the flow when I schedule a gold or recurrent and know that it’s going to sound great because I’m there, talking up the record or executing content around those songs. Being on the air everyday and hearing what the listener is asking for gives me a peek at what is breaking and new. But overall it’s the total feel of the station that really benefits from me being on the air every morning and in the music live.

How interactive with the audience is your morning show and does your on-air work help you understand your listeners more?
We are very open and honest with our listeners. When Lexi and I started on the air it was pretty painful getting any interaction. But the more we open up about who we are when the mics are off the more reaction we get when they turn on. We are very involved with the audience over the course of a show and the benchmark appointments we set with them. Does it have an effect on the music? I’m sure subconsciously it does. I have found that the more I’m on the air and connect with the audience, the more natural the discussion about music becomes. I know who they are and how they live. I live the same way. So I can really feel out what they are looking for in the music they enjoy and what they expect from us.

Who have influenced you the most throughout your career, and what did you take away from each of them that still resonates with you today?
When I first started out I was blessed to have great teachers like Zac Davis (G105) and Jagger (KTU) to watch and learn about the basics of radio and how to do it right. Spending time at FLZ with Kane I really learned what it meant to be a great personality. There are so many great and talented individuals that came from the FLZ family like Kane, Jeff Kapugi, Toby Knapp, Dom Theodoreand many more that I got to see how to do radio the right way on a large scale.
        Now being at KUDD, first with Brian Michel (Power 96.1) and now with Matt Johnson, I get a class on how to program a station from the ground up. MJ is a mad scientist when it comes to blending the math and data of business with the creative branding you need to be successful. We have a lot of fun on a daily basis and I’m very blessed to be allowed to create the way we do.
        There are so many others who I’ve worked with over the last dozen years that have influenced me or who continue to inspire me. I’m blessed to know them all.